Executive Summary

For decades, racial disparities in the morbidity and mortality (sickness and death) of birthing people and their infants have persisted. In Hillsborough County, Florida, Black families continue to bear the burden of maternal and infant mortality up to 3-4 times that of White families despite the siloed efforts of several community-focused initiatives. REACHUP has become a recognized leader in utilizing inclusive strategies that build on community strengths and assets. For 24 years, REACHUP has tackled health inequities by investing in grassroots and faith-based organizations and hiring staff indigenous to the communities served. We have worked with other community organizations to focus on social capital and assets, particularly our citizens’ capacity and desire for gainful and creative employment. Since our inception, REACHUP has hired and trained more than 75 indigenous nurses, doulas, outreach workers, and clerical staff. These staff are diverse racially/ethnically, general, physical ability, sexual orientation, culture, and language.

To focus more strategically on reducing infant and maternal sickness and death and aid fathers and other support persons, REACHUP works collaboratively with community partners to promote transformative, antiracist health policies and practices. These collaborations have created space for early conversations on the importance (and challenge) of promoting systems-level changes that will foster antiracist health policies and practices in healthcare delivery systems; brought in experts, including people with lived experience, to discuss various topics, such as racial equity, social determinants of health, implicit bias, and the different levels of racism and continued to promote data sharing, transparency, and shared decision-making.

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